Ankara: A Kurdish party says it
will back former legislator Leyla Zana who spent a decade in
prison convicted of links to Kurdish rebels in Turkey`s June
12 elections.

The Peace and Democracy party announced today it is
also supporting six Kurdish politicians who are in jail,
charged with links to the rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers` Party, or PKK.

The politicians will all run as independents to
overcome a 10 percent electoral threshold that keeps smaller
parties out of parliament. The jailed candidates would be
released if elected, under Turkish laws.

The Kurdish politicians will be trying to thwart Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s party from making inroads in
traditional strongholds in southeast Turkey.